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10 Rhythms
on one hand, considering what old-school, anologue
purists Gillian welch and David rawlings are, it’s
difficult to believe that they have not made their
records available on vinyl before now. on the other
hand, both are such perfectionists who will not be
hurried, that one might appreciate why it’s taken them
so long to release a product that they’re finally happy
with. But here they are: The Harrow & The Harvest,
resplendent in vinyl, and a new rawlings ‘solo’ album,
Poor David’s Almanack, their first release to some out
simultaneously on CD and vinyl. and one listen and you
know that we’re finally hearing welch and rawling like
they always hoped we would.
When I spoke with Welch for the release of The Harrow &
The Harvest, she remarked, “Nothing takes it on the chin
in the world of music than when you digitise things, in my
mind, it’s the ambience that is so difficult to translate.”
And keep in mind that this is the record that took eight
years to make. Not because Welch and Rawlings were
idly lounging about East Nashville or too busy with other
projects. No, as Welch told me, “I think I had started to
doubt that we were ever going to make anything again that
we would like!”
The pair focused all their considerable talents on a pure duo
record for The Harrow & The Harvest.
“We were sure, from the very first day, that this was going
to be a duet record,” Welch attested. “Nobody else on it. We
just really wanted to see what we could do with just the two
of us ‘cause I still feel like there’s more we can do. I don’t
feel like we’ve exhausted it at all.
“We were literally sitting in the chairs – we have two chairs
that face each other where we record in our studio and
the four microphones in between us, and we’re just about
as close as we can be. There’s about two feet between our
knees.”
The results will be judged as one of the greatest acoustic
duo records ever made. The songwriting, much of it
conjured and rearranged on the spot as the tape was rolling,
is as good as it gets, from beginning to end. My god, just the
A-side to this record contains more poignancy and beauty
than most musicians will conceive in a lifetime: ‘Scarlet
Town’, ‘Dark Turn Of Mind’, ‘The Way It Will Be’, ‘The Way
It Goes’ and ‘Tennessee’ have all become lynchpins of the
Welch live sets. Welch and Rawlings are telepathic in their
musical connection and sometimes it’s difficult to tell where
their individual voices begin and end, so entwined are their
harmonies and melodies.
The vinyl version presents a more natural, resonant
translation of the acoustic instrumentation and voices.
Everything sounds like it’s sitting where it should as if you
were on a chair right next to Welch and Rawlings in that
studio, their own deliberate variations in tone and volume
dictating the dynamics.
Poor David’s Almanack, while significantly more upbeat
and featuring most of the musicians who played on the last
Rawlings Machine album and tour, is no less ambitious in
its songwriting. The first time you put it on you swear you
already know all the songs – as you can read in the Rawlings
interview in this issue, he focused on simpler folk and
blues structures for the songs, deliberately chasing down
repetitive, catchy ideas and instilling them with the weight
of timeless themes. Picking up the electric guitar, Rawlings
also pays open homage to some of his heroes – ‘Cumberland
Gap’ is his tribute to ‘Ohio’ and ‘Guitar Man’ has Neil Young
guitar tones all over it. These are not simple, throwaway
songs – Rawlings, Welch and some of the best musicians
around have crafted another set of music to stay with us
forever.
Rawlings, Welch and their engineer Matt Andrews spent
time and effort to get the vinyl translation on these albums
right. The cover sticker proudly proclaims: “Mastered direct
from the original tapes through custom Ortofon amplifiers
to a Neumann VMS-80 cutting system and plated and
pressed at Quality Record Pressings.”
And Welch testifies on her website: “No sonic stone was
left unturned, no nuance let fall by the wayside. There is
honestly nothing else I can imagine hoping to hear out of
the original tapes. It is all there in the groove.”
Let’s hope the floodgate has been opened...
MARTIN JONES
Gillian welCh
THE HARROw & THE HARvEST
Acony
DaviD rawlinGs
POOR DAviD’S ALMAnACk
Acony